The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into allegations of corruption against Fisheries Officer Mohammad Alam in Habiganj. Letters have been sent to the concerned department asking for information. A case will be filed at the end of the search. An official of the ACC Habiganj office confirmed the matter on Friday afternoon. He said work was underway to collect the papers as part of the investigation. Letters have also been sent to the Fisheries Department. A decision on filing a case will be taken at the end of the preliminary investigation.
On December 26 last year, a local man lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Animal Resources and the Anti-Corruption Commission against Habiganj's Baniachang Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Mohammad Alam, alleging misappropriation of government funds which included signatures of 89 victims.
According to the complaint, Mohammad Alam, while working at Kurshi Carp Hatchery in Nabiganj, has been involved in corruption by supplying fish to different districts including Habiganj every year. He has squandered Tk 38 lakh for re-excavation of the pond in the financial year 2018-2019. He has embezzled Tk 3 lakh from the purchase of equipment. Although he provided fish to 11 upazilas in the same amount a year, he has deposited little money in the government treasury.
In the name of training, he stole government money. The open space in front of the hatchery has been leased to outsiders and he has made money by cultivating vegetables. It also mentioned that Mohammad Alam Hatchery had embezzled lakhs of taka by selling old trees.
Meanwhile, Alam filed a case under the Digital Security Act against some journalists in the Habiganj Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court. The court dismissed the case as it was out of jurisdiction. He later filed a case in the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal. The court directed the CID to investigate the case.